Ire Radio Podcast

Chicago drivers have forked over more than $600 million for traffic fines captured by red light cameras. But an investigation by the Chicago Tribune found that the largest robotic camera system in the country hasn’t done much to make the streets safer. Instead, city officials have used Chicago drivers like a network of cash machines. Reporter David Kidwell takes us behind the story. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1OXFuWk

All across America, you can find foreign guest workers peeling crawfish, setting up carnival rides and trimming trees. But the visa program that legally brings them here is rife with problems. On this episode, Ken Bensinger and Jessica Garrison take us through their BuzzFeed News investigation into H-2 visas, a program that condemns thousands of workers to abuse and exploitation.

On this episode, reporter A.C. Thompson discusses his investigation into the deaths of five Vietnamese-American journalists between 1981 and 1990. Officials seemed to think that an anti-Communist group called the Front had been behind the slayings, but law enforcement agencies never charged anyone and the cases went cold. Thompson reopened the investigation for ProPublica and Frontline, tracking down former members of the Front to try and find out who silenced the press more than 30 years ago. EPISODE NOTES: bit.ly/1PwEf5v

If you attended an IRE Conference in the early 2000s, the plot of the movie "Spotlight" might have sounded familiar. That’s because the Hollywood depiction of the Boston Globe’s investigation into the clergy sex abuse scandal stayed surprisingly true to the real behind-the-scenes story. How do we know? A few of the journalists depicted in the film – Walter Robinson, Marty Baron and Sacha Pfeiffer – discussed the reporting process at conferences in 2002 and 2003. We’re sharing some of that archival audio on this special bonus episode. EPISODE NOTES: bit.ly/1kFoZqz

Every reporter has their own version of the story bucket list – a collection of ideas or issues they can’t die without covering. On this episode, we’ll hear how G.W. Schulz of The Center for Investigative Reporting crossed one off of his. G.W. spent nearly eight years reporting on America’s missing and unidentified dead, unearthing stories about the victims, their loved ones and the sleuths trying to close their cases for good. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1P2oCmq

There are some phone calls that will always be hard to make as a reporter. Reaching out to grieving relatives in the wake of a death is one of them. On this episode, Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Jeff Meitrodt discusses what it was like to do that over and over again as he pieced together a powerful four-part investigation on deaths on family farms. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1XrUlTs

Meet Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada. You might have guessed from their names that they’re brothers. They’re also both investigative journalists working for ESPN. On this episode, we’re sharing pieces of our conversations with the brothers during their recent trip to the University of Missouri. We talk about everything from their reporting on the NFL’s concussion crisis to the much-discussed relationship between ESPN and the NFL, and how they decide when to team up on a reporting project. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1WPh9qG

How do you get the truth out of a liar? On this bonus episode, experts weigh in on just that. You’ll hear from investigative reporter Matt Apuzzo, former CIA polygraph examiner Barry McManus, and former FBI counterterrorism agent Don Borelli. In this audio pulled from the 2015 IRE Conference, the three discuss how to develop rapport, when to get confrontational and how to spot kernels of truth hidden in all those lies. EPISODE NOTES: bit.ly/1k55MP5

For years, the U.S. has pushed education as one of its major triumphs in Afghanistan. The government helped build schools, train teachers, issue textbooks and educate scores of girls. And for years, that legacy went relatively unchecked. But when Azmat Khan of BuzzFeed News began questioning the numbers and visiting schools in the region this year, she found a very different reality. On this episode, Azmat walks us through her reporting into Afghanistan’s "ghost schools." EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1G5YfJZ

You don’t want to have a run-in with a police dog in North Port, Florida. A year-long investigation by Michael Davidson of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune found that North Port’s canines have been biting people at an alarming rate. And the dogs aren’t just drawing a little blood. Many of suspects on the receiving end of K-9 unit attacks have been left with serious, lasting injuries. On this episode, Davidson takes us behind the story and explains how he tackled the reporting while covering other assignments. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1JAfrC6

What happens to immigrants convicted of sex crimes? The answer, Maria Sacchetti found out, is often unsettling. Her investigation for the Boston Globe revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was quietly releasing violent offenders back into the U.S. when their home countries wouldn’t take them. On this episode, Sacchetti talks about the reporting process – including a lawsuit that forced ICE to give up the names of released criminals. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1QAIXxA

With students across the country heading back to campus, we thought it was time to take a behind-the-scenes look at a student investigation. This week we’re talking to Megan Jula, a journalism student at Indiana University, about her reporting on the school’s mental health care services. Megan found that Indiana (and many other large public universities) wasn’t meeting nationally recommended student-to-counselor ratios, resulting in scheduling delays that put students at risk. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1JfAN8Z

This week we're taking a look at a joint investigation between The Marshall Project and NPR. The two teamed up to look at what happens when prisoners go straight from solitary confinement back to the streets. Reporters Christie Thompson and Joseph Shapiro will discuss how they worked through common prison reporting roadblocks. EPISODE NOTES: http://bit.ly/1S8jLD7

How do you earn the trust of a source like, say, Edward Snowden? Or the former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden? On this bonus episode of the podcast we’ll hear from someone who did just that. Earlier this year documentarian Laura Poitras spoke with Toronto Star reporter Robert Cribb at the 2015 IRE Conference. In the three clips you’re about to hear, Poitras discusses each of her films: "My Country, My Country," "The Oath" and "Citizenfour." She’ll talk about getting access, capturing candid moments and more. Episode notes: http://bit.ly/1O6SE5u

When Tampa Bay Times reporters Alexandra Zayas and Kameel Stanley got their hands on state and local data about bike tickets, they found some sobering statistics. Tampa police were stopping bicyclists at an alarming rate. And eight out of 10 of the bicyclists ticketed were black. It’s a great story, and even if your community isn’t handing out bike tickets like candy, this is one that could be replicated in communities across the country. So grab a notebook. On this episode, Alex and Kameel walk us through how they made it happen. SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/1IGaHLf

Seymour Hersh is an investigative reporter with a storied career dating back to his reporting on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Recently, his reporting on the killing of Osama bin Laden, a narrative that runs counter to the one widely circulated, has garnered a wide range of reactions. Hersh addressed all of that and more at the recent IRE Conference in Philadelphia. Today we’re sharing a section of his conversation with Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor of the Washington Post.

If you’re having seafood for dinner, there’s a chance it was caught by a slave. That’s what the Associated Press uncovered when reporters traveled to the remote island of Benjina, Indonesia. They found workers trapped in cages, forced to work 22-hour days for almost no pay. And when they followed the fish, they learned some of it ended up in US restaurants and supermarkets. Reporters Martha Mendoza, Margie Mason and Robin McDowell walk us through their high-impact investigation.

When the Washington, DC police chief bristled over a question about witness executions, Washington Post reporter Cheryl W. Thompson knew she was on to something. On this episode we’ll be talking to Thompson about her investigation into witness killings and intimidation. And for the second half of the show we dug into our audio archives for some interview tips from Tisha Thompson, an investigative reporter at NBC4 Washington.

Meet Nigel Jaquiss, the Pulitzer-winning journalist whose reporting brought about the resignation of Oregon’s longest-serving governor. Today we’re exploring Jaquiss’ path from Wall Street oil trader to muckraking journalist. He’s sharing his process for working through an investigation and explaining how he broke stories about some of the state’s most powerful politicians. We’ll also take a look at his most recent investigation, "First Lady Inc.," which recently won IRE’s highest honor for investigative reporting.

We’re taking a break from our reported podcasts this week to bring you audio from a conversation between legendary investigative reporter Bob Woodward and former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie, Jr. During a session at the 2009 IRE Conference in Baltimore, the two covered media failures, the editor-reporter relationship, and what dinner with Al Gore is like.